


all that you need

by AccioSmutticus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Cousins, Family Bonding, Fluff, Gen, Recovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-17 09:14:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20618591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AccioSmutticus/pseuds/AccioSmutticus
Summary: After her father's arrest, Verena Mulciber moves with her mother and her siblings into her uncle's home. Cephus Dolohov does his best to help his cousin settle in, especially when she refuses to speak to the adults.





	all that you need

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sbzpruiosnejre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sbzpruiosnejre/gifts).

Things have been tense around the house for about a week. His mother has decorated the empty rooms, bringing in more beds than Cephus thinks they had in the house before. He does his best to stay out of the way, quietly observing and keeping six-year-old Sidra occupied. It isn't often that he's responsible for watching out for her. He's only nine after all, and though he's happy to play with his little sister, his parents like to stay involved. Now, though, he gets the sense that something big is happening.

Something that isn't good.

It isn't the first time. Last summer, it was mum explaining that grandfather had been arrested, that they wouldn't be able to see him again - and that they shouldn't talk about him except at home. Then she sent him off to hug his father, because grandpa was _his_ dad, and this was hard for all of them. October, dad showed him where the floo powder was, and said that if there was ever an emergency and he didn't feel safe at home, he should go to Uncle Fenton's house - or to Lestrange Manor. Not long after, they both explained that they loved him and Sidra very much, but they might have to go away - that they were doing everything they could to try to stay with them, but it might not be enough. If anything happened, Fenton or Rabastan would look after them... Rabastan was arrested only a week later.

Months on, things had seemed to calm down until last week. This was different, with no one going missing from his life, but the mood reminded Cephus of before. It was this similarity that drove Cephus to beg to stay home when Sidra went to Uncle Fenton's yesterday. Despite wariness, his mum agreed. He did his best to help without asking questions about what was happening, and now, he waits crouched on a second floor balcony overlooking the foyer for his parents to return home. His fingers brush the pages of the book he's been too anxious to continue reading, but even the act of holding it helps.

Finally, the door opens. A rush of cold air enters first, followed by his mum. She holds the door with one arm, a toddler cradled in the other, giving the impression of sheltering those that follow with her body. Behind his mother enter a woman with dark hair, as old as his parents - although she holds herself in a way that reminds him much more of a frightened kid - accompanied by three more children. Two brunette boys, Sidra's age or a little younger, hold hands, looking confused more than anything as they enter the home. Lastly, just in front of his father, is a girl who looks to be about two years older than him. Her black hair looks like it had been neatly brushed before she stepped into the wind outside, but now it's in mild disarray due to its length, snow melting against it. It strikes Cephus as odd that out of all of them, she stands the tallest, her expression impossible for him to read. Odder still, she's the only one who doesn't wear a coat, but she doesn't react to the chill air. Cephus shivers at the idea.

His mum stops to talk to the woman, murmuring too softly for him to hear what they're saying, and his eyes continue to wander back to the girl. She watches the boys, her eyes flicking occasionally towards the toddler who Cephus assumes to be her little sister. It's not long before they go to leave the front room. His father splits off to go to his office, while his mother leads the strangers down the hall. The last to leave the room, the girl pauses, looking directly at him. Cephus freezes momentarily, then backs up to return to his room.

* * *

The sun starts to sink back towards the horizon - if only slightly - before the house quiets more fully into the familiar lull of nap time. Sidra insists she no longer has to take naps, but their mum says quiet time is important, whether she chooses to sleep or not. The quiet is almost complete before he hears the murmur of voices in the hall, creeping closer to his door to try to hear what they're talking about. An unfamiliar voice - the woman from earlier, he expects - breathes words of thanks, and then there's his mum's deep, soothing words, "_**Of course. We're going to keep you all safe.**_" It fades as they walk towards the stairs, but Cephus recognizes the tone as the one mum uses to comfort him when he's upset.

Silence folds again for a long moment before the girl from earlier pads around his door, glancing inside his room. Their eyes lock for a moment before he moves to make room on his bed. He sees the hesitation in her before she steps inside, settling beside him. Her fingers pull at the ends of her sleeves, and he notices that they're frayed from her doing it often. "**I'm Cephus,**" he murmurs.  
She blinks at him, and her voice is softer than he would have imagined when she says, "**I'm Verena. Do you know why we're here?**"

It's the first time Cephus can recall hearing a question from another child that he thinks is asking what he knows, rather than asking for the information. "**No,**" he answers honestly. Now that she's closer, he can see how blue her eyes are, but her expression is still… almost blank. She gives half a nod, her gaze flicking towards the door. "**Do you want to play gobstones?**"

Surprise flickers over Verena's features. "**That's a boy's game,**" she says, but she seems more confused than offended, so Cephus offers a soft smile.  
Fetching two of the little bags with gobstones in them, he sits on the floor. "**My little sister loves to play.**" Again, Verena hesitates, but then she sits across from him, a hint of a smile on her lips. It's gentle, as is the way she takes one of the bags from his hands. "**I'll teach you how,**" he promises, deciding then that he hopes she can stay here.

**Author's Note:**

> As I amass an entire family tree for purebloods, don't mind me. Verena is the daughter of Mulciber Jr, and she and Cephus are Antonin Dolohov's grandchildren.


End file.
